Chapter 13 Trustee filed Motion to Dismiss for Failure to Qualify. Largest claim in this matter was for a judgment for injury and punitive damages from a state court in South Carolina. Debtor alleged that because the claim was listed as disputed on his schedules, it did not count for Chapter 13 eligibility purposes. Debtor had filed no formal objection to the claim filed by the creditor but merely attacked the Proof of Claim in the context of defending against the Trustee's Motion to Dismiss.

The Court found the Creditors claim to be both liquidated and noncontingent by virtue of the South Carolina judgment, brought before the court in the form of a triple-seal, exemplified copy. In following In re Stern, 266 B.R. 322, the Court agreed that claims labeled as disputed by a debtor for purposes of their schedules are still used in the computation when determining a debtor's Chapter 13 eligibility.

After the Court decided it was appropriate to certify an ipso facto default issue in a car loan to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, Ford Motor Credit asserted that it had a right to arbitrate. The Court denied the arbitration demand as untimely and because it conflicted with an aspect of bankruptcy law.